White Is In the Winter Night
by JeffC FTW
Summary: Green mistletoe. Red holly. Silver star and moonlight. Golden candlelight. Gifts from the heart. Two couples celebrate the holidays on a winter night that everyone will remember.


**Been a hell of a long time since I wrote for BTAS, so I thought I'd bring one as a pre-Christmas gift for everyone. :3 In the form of Jervis/Alice and Crane/Ivy! **

**Think of this as an AU, in which we got normal, happy people and no need to worry about canon events. :D It's also named after and inspired by the song of the same name by Enya (and includes the best part of the song, in my opinion). **

**One more thing: fic is rated T because there is a brief mention of attempted rape, but nothing graphic to be seen or detailed. Please don't flame me. **

**I don't own Batman the Animated Series or Batman in general - nor the song and artist.**

They went all out with their new house for the holidays - and it exuded every inch of a fairytale, but it was also what they were in their every day lives.

She was in tears of joy when she beheld the last of it, after lighting the last of the most beautiful hurricane candles she purchased last July herself. Clear bubble textures were placed inside with honey-colored wax surrounded with faux red berries, outside being greenery with pine cones and preserved pomegranates; their sweet aromas gave off the sense they were still fresh.

_First Christmas with the baby coming soon. _

Alice Tetch referred to the firm growth of almost six months in the middle of her body which she cradled with both hands now. Sometimes she got teased for doing this a lot, but new mothers did this to enjoy the experience while they could, even though there was always another chance in the future. In doing so, she ended up in tears when she took note of that ring which he gave her when he proposed to her over a quiet dinner at home, just months after his success with the invention he spent much of his life perfecting.

This was a small but noticeable bold Art Deco pattern which made her think of a checkerboard - just like the ones in the story he loved so much that he'd keep a poster on his office wall - with four places of blue spinel which was famous for being mistaken to be a sapphire, while the rest were fiery white diamonds, also known as a girl's best friend...but at the focal point was the circle of sunlight in the form of a lavish-looking canary yellow.

She'd been his secretary, now wife. They were like best friends from the moment she first started working for him, when she dreaded Dr. Cates directly. Though she wasn't a terrible woman, just mostly difficult.

And in her hands was a Christmas present, wrapped up and ready to be given to him as soon as their guests arrived in a couple hours. Should she say, call it an upgrade of one of their most favorite things in the world, which money could not buy off?

Who knew what their guests would bring, even if they were both working on enjoying the holidays the same as her and her husband.

Alice was so tired from all the hard work in decorating this house, and it added to her condition, which was the second term nearing its end. At least her outfit was accommodating: the light lilac cowlneck sweater and faded jeans which stretched. Her hair was in a low ponytail, showing off the aquamarine drops in the lobes - _the treasure of a mermaid. _Blue and purple would always be her colors. She stretched her bones and rolled her shoulders until the sound popped in her ears as she took a look at her surroundings which had been more her than Jervis since he was busy as usual. Not that she minded.

Above the fireplace mantle, just atop the candle-and-berry vases, was a majestic, gilded moose head which normally belonged in a mountain or forest lodge, but Jervis told her that this had been in his family since before he was born, so there was no way she could say no to including this among her own heirlooms on her side of the family. The sculpted resin had been made by his father and uncle together, when they could have hunted a real moose themselves, but young Jervis was faint of the heart as much as his mother had been. It was also adorned with some evergreen branches and mistletoe berries - and that made her think of the one she was waiting for, because mistletoe filled the night and whole month with loving touches of the lips.

Now she looked out the window, in awe of how the moon and stars were alight - a silver disc surrounded on all fronts by a canvas of diamonds. There was more candlelight in the form of green and white silk blossoms consisting of white and red roses, pine cones with a golden luster, green orchids and moss with frosty leaves and popping red berries; the same arrangements were seen all around the tables in smaller wooden boxes. From above the windowsill hung icicles that looked so real while the outside windowpane was frosted for certain.

Garland draped the staircase with gold-lined red and white poinsettias and more pine cones, along with faux apples and pears that looked realistic, and so did the aspen trees which were as tall as she was, lining every doorway, the fireplace and the staircase bottom. The lights on each of the branches brought about a gentle wintry glow, bringing the outside indoors.

Finally was the tree which bore the ornaments her grandma had picked herself and some she made by hand with meticulous care. Plaid ribbons, crystalline snowflakes, red-and-white candy canes, along with ornaments of red and green, gold and silver, finished with holiday bells and fresh-smelling preserved apples; the branches themselves smelled of evergreen, like the real tree from the forest.

"Oh, dear Alice, it's magical and wondrous, wondrous, wondrous!"

She laughed and turned to see her man jovially striding in, wearing a creamy white sweater with brown buttons over a dark blue collared shirt. Despite a lot of things that happened in his life, he maintained the sunny outlook, and therefore made her do the same. He'd been there for her after Billy broke up with her over fear of commitment; she never thought he'd be the one who was there all along, and here they were having their third Christmas together - counting the first time while they were still boss and assistant - and with their first child on the way this time around. _The world isn't an all-dark and cruel place, and we live in a safer part of Gotham than in the city. This is everything we always wanted and more. _"All our hard work paid off, baby," Alice told him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down for a kiss, right under the moose head with the mistletoe.

Jervis loved laughing as much as she did, because it evoked positive energy released. "And speaking of hard work, the cookies are all ready."

Cookies...one of the best parts ever. Half of them were from the store, half done by their hands. First was a gingerbread village consisting of the house with the wreath and the gingerbread family - parents, son and daughter, according to size - and you couldn't celebrate the season without the tree; they made those together. Others from the store consisted of sugar cookies covered with frosting, in the form of blue-and-white snowflakes, Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, green wreaths, and certain phrases: _Joy to the World, Peace on Earth, Deck the Halls, _and _Merry and Bright. _

What was Christmas without egg nog, red and white wine? The hickory glazed ham in the oven? She went all out for everyone even when it was just the four of them.

On par, the doorbell rang. "Allow me!" Jervis said. "Get the gifts ready, dearest!" Laughing, she slapped her hands together and rushed upstairs quickly, grasping the packages in hand, then bounded back downstairs to place them under the tree. The voices were right behind her, and she stood up straight, clearing her throat and composing herself.

On the door was the wreath of red and green, gold and silver ornaments, before the door closed behind the couple who walked in.

The man had auburn hair parted down the middle and slicked down after being unkempt for years, wearing a khaki-colored tweed coat that he removed to reveal a white shirt beneath a mahogany sweater vest, his dark eyes warm with his smile. He looked like Ichabod Crane who stepped out of the book and into this world. And if you looked at the drop-dead gorgeous woman with the fiery waves - rubies dripping from the earlobes - loose over her shoulders, covered by the emerald green and black plaid dress, and her model-like legs covered by black leggings and boots, you'd get an odd-looking pair indeed - _but they love each other very much_.

Doctors Jonathan Crane and Pamela Isley - one a professor of psychology at Gotham State, the other a chemist and botanist who was recently appointed CEO at the cosmetics firm, Chez Gerard. Jervis' longtime friend being the former, and the other who had just been a former classmate of theirs in high school. Back in those days, when poor Jervis couldn't protect his bookworm friend from bullies, it was the beautiful Pamela Isley to the rescue who could scare the boys off with not only her looks and seductive threats - but she surprised them in secret with some plants that weren't poisonous but caused a reaction that drove the message home including messing with the smart kid who kept to himself and did what he was supposed to do. And of course, if the bullies so much as breathed a word of what she did, she'd do so much worse.

Alice had never known a strong, confident woman as the redheaded botanist. _And the fact she protects her boys to the extremes without killing anyone and getting caught - she'd be in serious trouble if she were. _

Apparently, that woman standing up for him palpitated the electricity from then on, and then the three went on to GSU to get their respectable careers. Their bond never faded at once.

But unlike her and Jervis, Jonathan and Pamela were not married, just in a solid relationship and living together. At the present, Crane was working to start a practice of his own which involved helping people overcome their worst fears and function better. His girlfriend was also doing research to find a vital floral or plant compound which would help.

The downside was that Pam couldn't have children, when the subject was brought up a few years ago. Due to the fact she had been poisoned and nearly raped by her professor of botany in college, and she would have been dead if her boys hadn't found her by chance and whisked her away - even issuing the arrest and jailing of Jason Woodrue. Luckily, Pam Isley didn't die, instead surviving at a cost: her immune system to all forms of poison increased everything but her fertility grounds.

_These two have been through so much: Jonathan an abusive childhood involving his grandmother _and _school bullies, while Pamela was nearly killed by her own professor who tried to make moves on her and resulted in these consequences. _

_Saving grace is they are going to be godparents to our own child. _

"Well, you have certainly outdone yourselves this year," Crane noted with a sniff and a smirk in one, nodding his approval. Some called him stuffy, but that was just the way he was since he was very young. Though he appeared to be older, in early forties at most, he was really mid-thirties, and his woman a year younger. They looked strange that way but worked so well together.

"Yes, I would say - and oh, delicious! I smell ham and cookies," Pam said, inhaling and exhaling with a content smile. "We starved ourselves just to wait for this alone, Alice. You're better than I ever will be."

Jonathan chuckled and shook his head. "You're not terrible, my rose. You're trying and do manage well." His compliment made her blush and tease back that he was the sweetest thing ever, which also made Jervis giggle a little. He was a hopeless romantic.

The evening passed by without trouble, and they had such great fun. The ham was scrumptious, and the cookies were delectable, which was more of a joy between the men while she and Pamela were readying the egg nog. The talk was that they spotted some young women on the nearby frozen pond, skating while the young men watched on, no doubt entranced. There were also young children having snowball fights and then rolling around when it began to snow - and just now, when it had paused a while ago, you could see the snowflakes outside the windows of this house.

Now that meant they would gather before the warm fire that was going - one of the last remaining natural resource uses, whereas everything else was gas and electric these days - and open their gifts they presented to each other, and the best ones were cherished for the rest of their lives.

_Green is in the mistletoe_

_And red is in the holly,_

_Silver in the stars above_

_That shine on everybody._

_Gold is in the candlelight and_

_Crimson in the embers._

_White is in the winter night_

_That everyone remembers._

Jonathan's first gift wasn't much of a surprise, since it was a brand new copy of Edgar Allen Poe's works, his old one having been snatched by misbehaving students who gave him a hard time. This was from Alice and Jervis together, and from his loving woman was a phenomenal new watch which was a replica of one that was manufactured back in the 1920s: sleek, sturdy brown leather with rose-gold finishes, and the white face bearing dark Roman numerals. He hummed and gave Pamela a sweet, brief kiss on the forehead as his thanks.

Jervis got something from both of his friends, and it was something he was honored to have, wearing it on his right ring finger: a ring of platinum and bearing calming turquoise accented with a faithful version of the sword Excalibur. _For a man who is not only strong and brave in heart, but honest and true._ He was trying not to shed a tear, but he really did when Alice presented what she waited so long to give him since the month began.

Cloisonné boxes were highly prized in France as well as the early Byzantine era to the Ming Dynasty, and in the present day. This one was exquisite with its craftsmanship, the surface a sea glass hue, covered with sumptuous golden scrollwork forming a pattern of hearts, all set throughout with tiny crystals, and each heart was inlaid with dark blue while the great snowflake they surrounded had pristine, moonlit white and was etched with a perfect pearl...

...and when he opened it, he beheld the familiar sight of their wedding photograph. Him in his white tuxedo and blue shirt, hair slicked and bearing a light blue rose with baby's breath on his lapel, while she was in a sweet mermaid silhouette, light blue as the skies and covered with icy white lace; her hips were accentuated by the gathering of silky white petals and golden accents. Her loose curls were crowned with what looked like five scalloped shells set with sparkles, finished with iridescent seashells swaying with strands of pearls in her ears. That day with them on the beach of Gotham on a warm summer day, Pam and Jon there along with a few colleagues...it was what everyone wanted, and to be treasured like amber for the rest of their lives.

Pamela was surprised utterly altogether when she opened the little green velvet box handed to her, and before today, this was a risky decision that Jonathan had talked about with Jervis, Alice accidentally overhearing when it was man to man. Inside was metal of rose gold twisted like a branch, the marquise white diamonds acting as leaves, but at the center to attract the most attention was the round green amethyst which could belong to a goddess - and Jonathan was kneeling in front of her as though he were the mortal man worshipping said goddess.

"I've known you for years, and while it has been said before, it's forever in my book, so Pamela, will you -?"

"Oh, you hell of a man, of course I will! And never mind that we won't have children," she said heatedly, getting down on her knees with him and pulling him close into a heated kiss, right after accepting the new ring. Took them long enough, but you know what they said about career men and women: they took a long time and were usually dense with these things, and two geniuses together who knew each other a long time? Just keep your fingers crossed that it could still work out.

"Oh, this has been such a merry Christmas, Jervis," Alice breathed, leaning into him, his arms wrapping around her and one hand coming to lay itself upon her rounded stomach, where the baby began to stir. And indeed, it had been.

And around her neck was the gift from him, made of dark pewter and forming a filigree in the shape of a spade - like the card spade - and in the center was a glowing red crystal heart. To represent the most magical of unions in the aces, leading to the most joyful of circumstances and many more to come.

**Yeah, I didn't include Harley in this story since this focuses on Pam, Jon, Jervis and Alice with no real plot, just for fun and holiday cheer, but I DID incorporate elements that we all know. :D But imagine that in the future, Pam MIGHT meet her somehow. Sadly, there might not be a sequel or anything to this, since I have no inspiration and have other important works at the moment. Things have been difficult since my dad died last summer.**

**All in all, I hope you all enjoyed this. REVIEW WITH LOVIN' DETAIL. :3**


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